Splash guard for vehicle wheel fenders



Aug. 27, 1935. G. F. BAHR 2,012,921

SPLASH GUARD FOR VEHICLE WHEEL FENDERS Filed March 29, 1933 Patented Aug, 27; 1935 UNITED STATES SPLASH GUARD F01; V VEH ICILE :WHEEL F ERS. Gustave FQBahr, Fairfield," Conn; assignor to Joseph H; Cohen, Bridgeporhconn, Application March as, 1933,:S6Ijiitl No. 663,399

is Claims. (01. 280-152) i This invention relates to splash guards for the jferred formofsplashguard made in fenders of motor vehicles, and more particularly, to advantageous means for attachingsuch guards in operative position. g Various automobile, manufacturers, provide very diversified forms of fenders in order toenhance the appearance and to have their cars $100k, different from others; some with large beads and-others with small beads, and some-with a full return bend on the bead and others-with only a partial return bend on thebead. These differences have been so marked in many instances that the attaching means on most of thesplash guards furnished to thetrade now are not universally applicable. r It is a particular object of the present invention to provide attaching means Whichwill be more universal than most of thoseforms heretofore presented and which may be applied to a .ivariety of cars even though the fender details are markedly difierent. r V v r It is another-object of the present invention to provide a splash guard which will remain associated with the :fender even though the .at-

.taching means loosens considerably, and which is, therefore, less apt to drop off and become lost. It is a further object of the present invention ,toprovide a splash guard with attaching means with jaws which may be opened very wide, while 30 still associated with the apron section of, the guard, inorder to be, connected to those fenders having a very large diameter bead. rr 'A feature of the invention is the provision of a splash guard having a, clamp made of two jaws so arranged as to prevent relative turning-between the two, thereby facilitating assembly of the splash guard to an automobilefender. Anotherfeature is the provision: of novel attachingmeansfor a splash guard including a; jaw having .a base section adapted to engage andhold large beads and having an integral nose piece adapted to grip fenders having asmall head, with the end of the nose piece adapted to hook ontoor' into bothlarge and small beads topreventinadvertent'lossof the splash guard.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter I appear. n J In the drawing j to a very diiferenttype of fender,

means.

wlthmwn o the carbody by the Wheel, d rin ravel,- a v p I f c rdin re i ang ee r li p e e e accizordance with the present invention.

.Fig; 2 is a side view of the splashguard shown f.; F g- 1- V 3" 1, 1

' Fig.;3=is Va.longitudinalsectional view. of the v5 attaching means provided by; the jpresent invenrtion applied to one type of fenderl, V i :4; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig.3, but shows the attaching means applied Fig. 5=is a longitudinalsectional .viewof the attaching means in the open position, ready for attachmentito a fender.

. --Fig. 6fiS a perspective view of the; attaching Fig. ,7, is .a longitudinal. sectional: modified form of attaching means.

I V w of 1 a The splash guard of the present invention comprises an apron I 0, which may be made of leather, fabricoidior the like, butwhich, for economy,

is preferably made of soft molded rubberand is made of, sufficient weight so that it hangs down and intercepts dirt, oil and the like fromgbein to'the present invention, (there is provided a novel form. of clamping or attaching means H for securinggthe apron l0 to'thafender of *a car; This attaching means, inits present preferred form, comprises a metal clamping jaw I l2 adapted to engagetheinside Of a fender and 1 a complementary outside clamping jaw 13, which is preferably covered, with soft molded rubber or ,,other material h'aving the, characteristic of; not

scratching ormarringthe finish of an automo-r @bil fl e e o amp ng Ja slaands W e p erab -m e as p ys ca s a e pansy-in order toprovide a maximumof spreadu-and'the'reby facilitate-connection to a fender 0112 3, ear.

nscrew [4, preferably having'a threaded c on- 340 nectio n l5 vvith; a sleeve V, [6 on the .apron, is profvided toclamp the jaws together for ,securement of the aprontoafender' or the like; [The clamping jaws are rotatably mounted onthe screw I l soh hth y m y be. dam as ifle ty s ,arcuate; positions relative to'the screw andElongitudinal positions relative to the apron in order to better fit various convex contours at the ends ofthe fenderson alargevarietyof cars.

con ectio fth s w 14 th hfab b s is preferably accomplished through the provision of a threaded sleeve l6 located in a suitable aperture in the apron and headed over on washers I! at opposite sides of the apron so that it will remain rigidly secured" thereto. It is also possible, for economy, to merely use a loose washer and nut (not shown) onthe back of the apron; however, this plan is less satisfactory than the one shown. The jaws l2 and I3 of the attaching means II are rigidly clamped together and secured to the apron by passing the screw l4 through apertures l8 and I9 on the inside and outside jaws i2 and 13 respectively, and then tightening it with a screw driver.

By having the attaching means ll made of two separate parts in this manner and mounted on a screw I4, it is possible to have the two clamping the necessity of drilling holes or making other costly and slow arrangements.

The outside jaw I3 is preferably made substan tially L-shaped with a back portion, adapted to engage the outer face of a fender during the clamping 'function,

and at a right angle -there'toab'ase portion 2| ada'p'ted to engage an inside "face22 of the inside jaw for the purpose of spacing the 'back "portion 2il of the -'ou'tside jaw-from the inside 'jaw and thus serve-as a'fulcr' um about which the outer jaw is moved whenthe screw'is'tightened; -'e-- ou't'side jaw is also'pr'eferably provided with a rib Z-S 'adaptedto fit into 'grooves on the outside surface of afender and 'thereby further tend to prevent thesplash -guard from-slipping off a "fenderf Although'not essential-, it is preferably enclosed in a coveringM-orso'ft rubber-or other similar matter, as by =molding', so that it will not mar the outside finish of a fender orother --*part ofthe carupon which it' is secured.

The inside -j-'aw"1fi "of the attaching means 'I l "le -preferably made entirely-of metal, "for there is no particular danger or marring the finish o'f an automobile, It should'be particularly noted at this jaw is provided with a'nose piece 25, if the' form o'f-afreturn bend, at its outer end "which-amen" substantially open and which is "adapter to-hook intoa large open bead, such 1 as the head 26 on the fender 21 shownin Fig. 4, "to-"loc teand supportthe splash g'uardbn such a reader dur'iii'gthe initial application I and there- "by free both hands of 3 an assembler while the screw l' l'is being tightened to hold the splash -'-"guard -inplace It also serves'the additional im- 5 portant function of supporting the spla'sh guard ori the fender should the screw F4 become loosenedinadvertentlythrough vibration and the like, and "thereby prevents theloss of the complete splash f'guard which might otherwise occur.

WhenFthe splash 'gua-rdis sogapplie'd, a base women 2850f the jaw '12" serves to cl'ampfthe "fender-,"forasthe screw His tightened it draws the outside jaw I3 against "the outside' 'face' of the fnder,'-with 'therib' 23 in a groove 29 of "the fender "Zl and draws the basefportion '2 B"of 'theQins'idejaW I21 against-the bead' fl rigidly "while the nose piece' remains -hooked in the bead. I V The splash guard and attaching" means}! lpro- '-vided=by 'the present invention may also be quickly and advantageously applied to a fender 30 with a-=Sma11 bead 3-1 having a run returnbendfas shown 3. In such an application, the outer race of the nose piece 25 engages with the injaws open up a considerable extent, V as shown in Fig. 5, so that the splash guard may be added to a large variety ofcars without and having "at its lower end side face of the fender while the tip 32 of the nose piece rests upon the bead 3|, and in this position the screw I4 is tightened and the outside jaw is moved toward the inside jaw with the screw M to rigidly clamp the fender 30 between the nose piece 25 of the inside jaw and the back portion 20 of the outside jaw l3. If the bead 3| is not provided with a full return bend, the'tip 32 of the nose piece 25 may be dropped within the head a short extent after which the two jaws l2 and !3 of the attaching means may be moved together.

Thus, the present invention ,providesa novel small attachingv means which, in effect, has a double clamping range and which, without special preparation, advantageously clamps a splash guard to a fender with a small bead or to fenders with large beads. 7

-With that typeof fender shown in Fig. 4, there is considerable inherent springiness of the open head 26 between the clamping jaws l2 and 13 which would naturally tend to allow the attaching means'to loosen and permit the splash guard to inadvertently drop off the fender, however, the nose piece 25, whichhooks inside the bead, prevents-such inadverten't 'loss and keeps "the splash guard on the fender un'til 'the operator happensitcnot'ice thatsuch -a loosening of the attaching means has occurred and'takesthenecessaryi steps toagain tighten it properlyin place. 1 A novel structural arrangement is provided by :the presentinvention- 'to preven'trelative rotation 'be't\x ee'n theins'ide jaw 12 and outside jaw 13 about; the'holding screw ."Myandto this end" the *outside jaw isprovided with a slot 33 and'the inside jaw i's'provided-with a tongue 34 havi'nga free slidi'n'gfit in the slot. This construction obvi'ates the necessity -'for aligning one clamping jaw relative tothe other' 'at the' time of putting a splash guard on the fender of a'car and thereby considerably facilitates-this assembly, At-the same timeit'makes' possible rotation of} the complete attaching means for alignment with the various contours of the bea' d section on the fenders by merely grasping and turning one of the clampmay be desirable to have a shorter or longer spacing of the nosepiece-on the inside jaw relative to thenotc'hfn ontheoutsidejaw fl3. If pref-erredthetongue f34m'ay be provided on'the outside jaw l3 and'the slot may beprovided on the-inside jaw I2; however, for manufacturing reasons, the arrangement shown'is at present preferred. In-Fig, 7 there is shown a modificd former the invention comprising aclampingjaw I2 which is molded-solidly in place with the rubber apron lllf and is with a movable jaw adapted to clam the apron to fenders like the preferred form of clamp hereinb'eiore described inde'tai'l. Kthreade'd connection 15 comprisin'g' a threaded'sleeve l6 and washersl'l may be 'addedto the apron i0 and clamp l2 after'the molding operation. The main advantages' o'f this form of invention over the preferred formal'ready 4 described indetail are thattherubber apron 1ying underneath the'hook 25 is adaptedjtoengage the bead of, the fender and, prevent scratchingto-a greater degree, and "during the manufac- 2-,O'f2f921 I I adap'ted 'to -engage" the outerface of a fenderand turing operations were olfllosing'the 'insidecl'ampingjaw.

" Other" variations and modifications maybe d' portions of the improvements maybe used-without th rs fi. a. 7.1

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters Patent, is: I

1. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel comprising an apron; a naked metal jaw having an open return bend adapted to hook into an open head on the underside of a fender; a cushion metal jaw adapted to engage the outside of the fender; and a screw for securing said jaws together and to the apron.

2. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel comprising an apron; a rubber covered clamping jaw adapted to engage the outside face of a vehicle wheel fender, forming one half of a clamp; a naked metal jaw forming the other half of the clamp having an integral base section and nose section adapted to engage with different sections respectivelyon the inside of the fender; and

screw means adapted to pass through said rubber covered jaw and metal jaw for securing said jaws together and upon the apron. 3. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel comprising an apron; a clamp for attaching said apron to a vehicle wheel fender comprising clamping jaws with a screw passing therethrough and into the apron for securing said clamping jaws together and to the apron; and a tongue and slot construction on said clamping jaws adapted to prevent relative turning.

4. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel comprising an apron; a clamp for attaching said apron to a vehicle wheel fender comprising clamping jaws with a screw passing therethrough and into the apron for securing sa d clamp-ing jaws together and to the apron; a tongue and slot construction on said clamping jaws adapted to prevent relative turning; and means to permit longitudinal movement of one clamping jaw relative to the other While preventingrelative rotation. 5. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel compris ing an apron; a clamp for attaching said apron to a vehicle wheel fender comprising a pair of clamping jaws and a screwpassing therethrough and into the apron for securing said clamping jaws together and to the apron; and means connecting the jaws independently of said screw permitting limited longitudinal movement while shaped jaw, said jaws forming together a sub-- stantially U-shaped clamp; and a screw passing through said jaws above and substantially parallel with the horizontal leg of the L-shaped jaw and having a threaded connection with the apron for securing a fender between the jaws and for securing the jaws to the apron.

7. Asplash guard fora vehicle wheel comprisv ing an apron; an inside jaw; a substantially L- shaped outside jaw having a vertical section having an integral base section adapted to space an open returnbend, adapted to hook into an open bead of a fender; and a screw passing through said jaws and the apron for securing ,a fender between the outside jaw and the base of the inside jaw while the nose piece is hooked into the bead,-and'for securing said jaws to said apron.

8. A splash guard for a vehicle wheel comprising an apron; anlinside jaw; a substantially L- shaped outside jaw having a vertical section adapted to engage the outer face of a fender and having an integral base section adapted to space the vertical section from the first-named jaw and engaging the latter to form a fulcrum thereon for said vertical section; a base section 'on the inside jaw which, with the outside jaw, forms a pair of articulated jaws for'clamping the splash guard to a fender; a nose piece on the inside jaw adapted to hook-into the bead of a fender and to engage the inside face of a'fender and thereby form a supplementary clamping jaw with the base section and the outside jaw to clamp the i apron to a fender; and screw means for moving the nose piece and base section of the inside jaw toward the outside jaw so as to clamp a fender therebetween and for securing'said jaws to said an apron; anattaching clamp for securing said apron. V y

9. A splash guard for automobiles comprising apron to a fender or the like, including an inside jaw and an outside jaw; a screw for effecting relative movement between the jaws; and a tongue and slot connection between said jaws acting with said screw to restrict relative turning movements between the two jaws.

10. A splash guard for automobiles comprising an apron; a pair of cooperating physically separate jaws for securing said apron to a fender; screw means for effecting relative movement between said jaws and for connecting the jaws to the apron, and about which said jaws may be rotated in-order to align with difierent convex fender rims; and a tongue and slot connection between said pair of jaws for eilectingconjoint rotation of both jaws about the screw means although but one jaw is manually moved.

11. A splash guard, for automobiles comprisscrew means for effecting relativemovement between said jaws and for connecting the jaws to the apron, and about which said jaws may be rotated and align with different contours of'fendor rims; and means for effecting conjoint rotation of the cooperating physically separate jaws about the screw means although but one jaw is 55 ing an apron; a pair'of cooperating physically separate jaws for securing said apron to a fender;

Y 5 berg for pulling, saidjaws together and; against the lower edge of a fender tqsecureiheguald thereto, said jaws: being substantially I rigid and against the fender.

beingiulcrumed one on thejothenand at least one of said jaws having a. cushion-like covering whereby the draft member is held under tension .by said cushion when tightly drawing the jaws GUSTAVE F. BAHRQ 

